Enerkem makes major high-octane biofuel breakthrough
Enerkem Inc., a world-leading waste-to-biofuels
The chemical engineering expertise at Enerkem's Innovation Centre in Westbury, Quebec, allowed the company to successfully develop a process that uses its proprietary waste-to-biofuel technology to produce a new biofuel with a Research Octane Number (RON) of up to 112. This is 20 points higher than the average octane rating found in regular motor gasoline. By using bio-dimethyl ether (Bio-DME), a product derived from Enerkem's
"It's a major breakthrough that could enable the development of a new non-oxygenated biofuel made from waste on a commercial scale," explained Stéphane Marie-Rose, Director of Enerkem's Innovation Centre. "Through the very selective catalytic reaction achieved using our waste-to-biofuels process, we have formed paraffinic molecules, such as
In addition to the various environmental and economic upsides, there are many possible applications for a high-octane biofuel derived from Enerkem's bio-DME. The non-oxygenated additive could serve the specialized fuels market, such as the aviation gasoline and professional motorsport sector. As with the
Enerkem's Innovation Centre intends to build on this technological advancement by further developing and optimizing the process as well as evaluating the potential commercial applications in the coming months.
Comments